Courthouse assaultRodolphe Nogbou was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Aug. 14 by Judge John F. Keenan in Manhattan federal court for assaulting a court security officer on Aug. 22, 2007 in the federal court at 500 Pearl St.

Nogbou was convicted after a four-day trial in January of punching the security officer in the eye on his way into the courthouse. He had set off the walk-through metal detector alarm and the officer was using a hand-held metal detector that also went off just before the defendant punched him, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney.

Tried bank jobA man entered the HSBC Bank branch at Broadway and Chambers St. at 1 p.m. Tues., Aug. 12 and passed the teller a note demanding money. The teller, however, left her station and a few minutes later the would-be bank robber fled empty-handed. The suspect was described as a black man wearing glasses, a multi-colored short-sleeve polo shirt, light blue jeans, white socks and carrying a dark knapsack.

Crime statisticsBurglary declined sharply during the 28-day period ending Aug. 17 compared to the same period last year in the First Precinct, which covers Lower Manhattan, Tribeca and Soho, according to N.Y.P.D. crime statistics. There were 11 reported burglaries during the period ending Aug. 17 compared to 19 the same period the previous year and for the year-to-date, 126 burglaries were reported compared to 149 the same period last year.

Robbery also declined in the First Precinct. There were six robberies reported during the 28-day period compared to nine the same period last year and for the year-to-date 67 were reported compared to 73 the previous year.